Percy and the Games
by HarryBrumbyJacksonGames
Summary: What will happen when Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase get picked to enter the Hunger Games? Getting close to them! Now writing chapter no. 11. Also, in case you were wondering, this story is set after the Percy Jackson books BUT before the Heroes of Olympus books. Changed to a T because might be gruesome in later chapters. Moments from the Hunger Games book and film included. R
1. Chapter 1

**Percy and The Games **

"Percy! Jump through the vortex!"

"Why?! We might get separated!"

"I don't care just jump, NOW!" Without thinking, I threw Riptide at the hellhound and leaped into the swirling purple mass.

It felt so weird. I felt like I was on a never-ending rollercoaster, with the most horrible twists, turns, spins and loops imaginable. I felt ill, sick, like the whole contents of my body was about to spew from my mouth. The only thing that was stopping me form being sick was Annabeth's hand clutching on to my ankle for dear life.

We suddenly landed with a painful crunch onto some dry leaves. Before we got to look at our surroundings, however, we suddenly we carried up again with a swoosh! I looked around in shock and saw that me and Annabeth were caged in a net, hanging high above the ground from a tree. I also saw that there was forest all around us.

"Well this is useful" Annabeth said, sounding bored more than anything else.

"Wait, shh. I think I hear something" I said, holding my finger up and listening intently. I thought I could hear footsteps, stepping on leaves. I listened and looked my hand slowly moving down to my pocket to get Riptide out. My hand crept into the pocket…and the pen was gone. I started to fumble about, searching franticly for Riptide.

Annabeth looked at me with a funny look "what's wrong Percy?"

"My pen! It's gone!"

"Well duh, you threw it at that hellhound Seaweed Brain" Annabeth said, annoyed.

Our conversation was cut short however, when an unfamiliar girl's voice shouted "Gale, come and look at this!" she began to laugh. I turned to look at the girl. She looked dangerous. She had dark olive skin with dark brown hair that ran down to just past her shoulders. She looked about 16 or 17. The girl also carried a bow with an arrow loaded. We stared at her. She stared at us.

Suddenly a boy came crashing through the bushes. He didn't have a weapon, but he looked quite strong and clever. He also looked like the girl, dark olive skin with dark hair. He also looked about 16 or 17.

"What's up?" he said. She pointed at us inside the net. He turned and looked at us…and snorted with laughter. Me and Annabeth just looked at each other, exasperated.

"Do you speak English?" the girl said.

"Yes we do" I said, annoyed that I was stuck inside a net without Riptide. But these people were probably mortals; they wouldn't be able to see through the mist.

I was rather annoyed and said quite angrily "my name is Percy Jackson and this is Annabeth Chase. I am the son of Poseidon and she is the daughter of Athena and I demand that you tell us where we are and who are you?" Annabeth elbowed me in the sides and I suddenly realised what I just said. You don't just claim to a mortal that you are the son of a Greek god.

The girl and the boy just stared at us. The girl said "ok, well I'm Katniss and this is Gale and at the moment you are in District 12 in Panem" the girl looked confused.

"May I ask who are Poseidon and Athena?" Gale said. Me and Annabeth stared at each other. Every mortal in America knew the Greek gods, plus where were Panem and District 12? I asked this to Gale and Katniss and they explained, clearly amazed. They explained that Panem used to be called North America and that there was the Capitol and the 13 Districts. But then there was a rebellion and District 13 was destroyed and in order to "celebrate" the peace, there was an event called The Hunger Games.

"The Hunger Games? That sounds…horrible" Annabeth said, clearly disgusted.

"Yeah The Hunger Games are part of our tradition. A girl and a boy from each district are chosen to fight to the death in a computerized arena. The last person alive wins" Katniss said, as though it was perfectly normal.

"So what about you? Where do you come from?" asked Gale. Me and Annabeth looked at each other concerned. Should we tell Katniss and Gale about everything? We both decided that we should. They could help us find the portal back home. So we explained about the Greek gods and mortals and half bloods and all about the monsters that chase us. We said where we came from and how we got here.

"Wow, that sound unreal but you're both here so…it must be true" Katniss said looking at Gale.

"Um, I think you might of forgotten that we are still dangling in this net" Annabeth said.

"Oh yeah, you landed in one of our traps" Gale said and then he talked for a long time about how most of the districts were poor and had trouble finding food. He also said that technically they were not meant to be in this forest but they could both hunt so they could sneak into the forest and get food.

While Gale was talking, he climbed the tree that we were hanging from and untied the ropes. We fell to the floor with a nasty thump.

"Shame you didn't have Riptide" Annabeth moaned, rubbing her head.

"What's Riptide?" asked Katniss.

"It's my bronze sword that kills monsters but before we jumped through the vortex stupid me threw it at the hellhound that was chasing us" I grumbled angrily.

"Never mind about your sword, you two might get picked to enter the games!" Gale said.

"What? But isn't there like a register or something?" Annabeth asked.

"No I don't think so, but it doesn't matter because your names' are only in there once. So is Prim's, she keeps getting scared that it will be her" Katniss said, looking a little sad.

"Even though, there still is a chance that at least one of you will take part in the games…and the Reaping Day where the tributes get picked is tomorrow" Gale said with a warning look.

Both me and Annabeth looked at each other in horror.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

**The next morning, me and Annabeth woke up on Katniss' bedroom floor. I had to think for a moment to remember what had happened yesterday. Then I realised what day it was today. **

"**Today's the big day, good luck, Half-Bloods" Katniss came in, with the remains of her hunt with Gale that morning. A fire roasted squirrel, but it had no puncture wounds on its body. **

"**How did you kill it? There are no arrow wounds here" I said, looking very puzzled. Katniss just laughed and Annabeth said, **

"**She got it through the eye Seaweed Brain" Annabeth said, looking like it was obvious. **

"**Wow, you shoot well. I am rubbish at archery; seriously, you give me a target to shoot at and the arrow ends up miles away" I said, waving my arm to demonstrate. Katniss laughed again. **

**Later on in the day, me, Annabeth, Katniss, Gale and Prim all stood in the crowd waiting to see who would be this year's tributes for the 74th Hunger Games. There was a large, grey building in front of us, which, according to Katniss, was called the Justice Building. There is also a temporary stage set up in front of the building. **

**On the stage, there were two large glass bowls. Both of them hold loads of folded pieces of paper. One has my name in it and the other has Annabeth's. **

**A very…decorated woman trots onto the stage. She has a huge ball of curly pink hair perched on her head. I tap Annabeth on the shoulder – who just happened to be in front of me – and she turns round and mouths "What?" **

**I giggle silently and whisper back "that is a really bad wig". Annabeth just glares at me and whispers, **

"**Well duh, why are you stating the obvious?" I hold up my hands and whisper, **

"**Well sorry, I was just trying to lighten up the mood". Annabeth just turns around and ignores me. **

**The pink lady chirps cheerfully into the microphone, "hello District 12! I hope all of you are well!" Silence. I can tell that she is getting a lot of evil looks. Nobody lives well in District 12. **

**Her beaming false smile fades slightly and she continues. "Before we choose our two victors, I would like you all to see a very special film from the Capitol!" I turn my head to the big screen which is raised above the stage, and the film plays. **

**I didn't really pay attention. But it did help me understand a bit more about Panem. When the film finished, the screen went blank and I looked back over to the pink lady. **

"**Now is the time where we choose our brave young boy and courageous young girl to represent District 12 in this year's Hunger Games!" The crowd shift uneasily. This was the moment that everyone has been dreading. **

"**Ladies first!" The pink lady moves over to the bowl on the left hand side of the stage. She raises her hand slowly, still smiling, and dunks it in the bowl. Her hand shuffles around for a while, before pulling out a slip of paper. **

**She beams, opens the paper and reads out the name in her stupid, chirpy voice. "Annabeth Chase". **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 **

I watched Annabeth get escorted by some men in white uniforms, called Peacekeepers I think; she walked up confidently, ready to take on any challenge. The pink lady beamed at Annabeth. Annabeth just scowled at her back. The pink lady backed away slightly. I couldn't blame her.

She turned to the crowd and said brightly, "now the boys!" I knew that there was a strong chance that I would not be picked. If I wasn't, Annabeth could win easily, but if I was, then Annabeth and I could search for the portal together…if it was in the arena that is.

I thought quickly and the pink lady was just about to pull out a slip of paper from the boys' bowl when I stepped out of the crowd and shouted,

"I volunteer as male tribute for District 12." Annabeth looked relived. Everyone else turned around to look at me in shock. The pink lady's smile disappeared for the first time and a bunch of Peacekeepers came and brought me on to the stage. I looked over at Annabeth and grinned at her.

The pink lady came over to me with the microphone and said cheerily, "what is your name then?"

"Percy Jackson"

"What a lovely name!" She turned back to the crowd, now looking relieved. "Let's hear for this year's tributes for District 12!" The pink lady clapped eagerly. No one else did.

She gave up being all smiley and ushered us into the Justice Building. We both got escorted into separate rooms and we were shut inside, alone. I sat on a red velvet sofa, looking around at the posh velvet room.

Suddenly, Katniss and Gale were let in by the Peacekeepers. I stood up and we hugged. There was an awkward silence after. Soon Katniss spoke up and said,

"We've just seen Annabeth, I can't believe that she got chosen!"

"No, I can't either. Who is that lady in the pink?" I asked, kind of stunned. Gale laughed slightly.

"That's Effie Trinket. She is the representative of District 12…I think" he said, slightly unsure.

Before any of us could say anymore, the Peacekeepers steered Katniss and Gale out of the room. Just before the door shut, Katniss shouted,

"Try to win Percy!"

The doors slammed shut.

Me and Annabeth were lead over to a car. We were driven to the train station where there were hundreds of reporters waiting to talk to us and get our pictures. I was liking this America less and less. No one seemed to care about anything except their own contentment.

We wrestled our way through the crowd and clambered on to the train. The doors slid shut and the train moved instantly. I hardly felt a thing.

I was steered into a very luxurious chamber which was a bedroom with a private bathroom. Annabeth had the exact same thing as me.

I looked out at the window and I staggered backwards in shock. The landscape was whizzing past faster than any normal train could go. I was just deciding whether we were travelling at the same speed that a centaur could go when there was knock on the door.

"Come in". It was the pink lady who I now knew her as Effie Trinket. She tottered in.

"Do anything you want dear and wear anything you want but be ready for dinner in an hour" I nodded. "Oh and er, dear, I suggest you have a shower or something" she smiled kindly and tottered out of the room.

I looked down for the first time at my clothes. They were filthy. Neither Katniss nor Gale had anything that fitted me or Annabeth, so we had to wear the clothes we were wearing yesterday. My trousers had a few tears in them from the fight with the hellhound. My face and hands were smeared with dirt from the forest.

I sighed and I had a shower. I was fascinated at all of the different shower gels, shampoos and conditioners you could get. All of them smelt amazing. They drew me in and I had a tough choice on which one to use. The water could also change. It could hot, cold, warm, gentle, hard, soft everything.

I took about 45 minutes in the shower because of all these delights. When I clambered out with a towel wrapped around me and looked at the time, my eyes widened and I dried and got changed into something smart as quickly as I could. Unfortunately, the clothes managed to fascinate me as well. So many different designs and colours…

I managed to get to dinner just on time. I ran from my bedroom to the door of the dining room. Just outside the door I paused, and swaggered in.

I tried to hide my astonishment of the room. Polished wooden panels lined the walls and a lovely wooden dining table, which was also polished. All of the dishes and the cutlery looked so clean and delicate; I didn't want to touch them.

Annabeth was already there, but I noticed that there were four chairs, rather than three. I sat down next to Annabeth.

"Why are there four chairs?" I mutter to her, quietly.

"Effie says that is for our mentor"

"We have a mentor?" I said, surprised.

"Yes, Seaweed Brain, how else are we supposed to know how to win? Our mentor is the previous winner from our district" Annabeth said bossily. I raised an eyebrow.

"Our district?" She tried to glare at me menacingly, but she looked slightly embarrassed.

"Um, I mean, that of course…um, District 12" she looked down at her lap. I could see her cheeks going red.

I laughed as Effie came in with a man who looked very drunk. How do I know? Well, four words, Party Ponies and Dionysus.

This man looked like he was in his late thirties. He had greasy blond hair that covered his face. Every step he took, his hair would swish back and fourth. His clothes were smart and looked expensive; however, he had clearly been asleep a lot and sick at least twice.

I tried not to look too shocked. But I had a feeling that we didn't stand a chance of winning.

"Oh, Haymitch do go and clean yourself up!" She was saying.

"No, I'm hungry and I want to meet this year's tributes!" He tried to shout back at her, but it just came out as some sort of slurred grumble.

He sat down opposite me and Effie sat down next to him; however she shuffled her chair to the other end of the table, clearly wanting to get as much distance as possible away from Haymitch.

We ate in silence, although it was more of an awkward silence. Annabeth looked at her plate and no where else. Effie kept glancing up and pulling faces at Haymitch as he seemed to be wrestling with his plate of food. I looked at everyone, however I stopped looking at Effie and Haymitch by pudding, because every face that was pulled just made me laugh.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 **

The next morning, I was awoken by the chirping that was Effie. "Up, up, up! It's going to be a big, big, big day!" I moaned and rolled over. I didn't want to get up. I wanted to be back, back in America, back at Camp Half-Blood. But Effie's voice was still there, sounding slightly bothered now.

I waited until she had left my room, opened one eye just to check and slowly climbed out of my bed. I shuffled lazily over to the shower and again I took too long in there than was wise.

Once I had got dressed into something suitable I came back into the dining room, everyone was up…apart from Haymitch. I smiled at Annabeth who looked like she had finished her breakfast already. She smiled back at me in a rather friendly way, which was strange.

Haymitch sauntered in just as I had finished my own breakfast. His face was red and puffy and he looked ill. I started up a conversation with Annabeth and I also kept an eye on Haymitch. He sits and ignores all of the food. He glares at us, as though he hated the fact that we were ignoring him.

In the end he taps a glass loudly with his finger and we immediately stop talking. We turn to look at Haymitch and he just stares at us for a while, as if sizing us up. Just to annoy him, I get up from my chair. He barks, "hey, sit down." I jump at the sharpness and I plonk into my chair like a frightened rabbit.

"Now, it looks like I've got some decent people this year" he says, still looking at us. "Stand up, both of you." We do as he told us and Haymitch walks around us, pointing out our good and bad qualities and poking us.

"Decent muscles, pretty, handsome, what? What do you call this?" He points at my black hair that is swept to the side. I get slightly offended at this remark and Haymitch's disgusted face. I took 15 minutes to do that this morning.

"It's my hair, what do you think it is? A rat?" I snap. Annabeth glares at me. I stick my tongue out at her.

Haymitch just laughs and carries on looking around. Finnaly he says, "What are you two muppets good at?"

"Well I'm good at sword fighting, I can run quite fast and I'm strong" I say, trying to show off. Haymitch just nodded and said,

"That will be useful. But what about you sweetie?" Annabeth glared at him.

"I can fight with a knife and I'm smart and agile" Annabeth said in a bothered tone. Haymitch looks pleased.

"At last, I have good people that could possibly win this year!" He said, shaking his fists in the air. He then looks out of the window at the landscape that is whizzing by.

"That's enough for now, we will be arriving at the station soon where you will be handed over to your stylists. You may not like what they do to you but you just have to put up with it. You have to make a good impression and they will help you with that." After saying this, Haymitch saunters out of the car, taking a bottle of whisky with him.

Suddenly the car goes dark and I walk over to the window. It looks like we are in a tunnel, must have been the first one we had been through on this train journey.

Just as quickly as the car had darkened, light flooded through the windows and I staggered back in shock. Annabeth laughed at me and I turned and shot a dark look.

We both pressed our hands and faces to the window as we caught our first glimpse of the Capitol. We both burst out laughing as we passed people dressed in clothes worse that Effie. The colours were strange and the designs were flamboyant. Their faces had more make-up on than any of the Aphrodite girls ever wore.

People point at the windows eagerly, seeing a tribute train. Me and Annabeth wave at the people, hoping to make a good impression. We look happy and pleased to be part of these ugly games. They laugh and wave back, glad to see two more people that might be slaughtered.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

I gritted my teeth and gripped on to the table as more hair was torn from my body. I was lying on a silver table in a very bland white room. I was being 'prepared' for the Opening Ceremony later on. For the past three hours I have been scrubbed with this horrible foam that didn't just seem to remove dirt. I felt like a snake that had just shed its skin.

While in the room practically every inch of hair that was on my body was ripped off. Apart from my lovely black hair that grew on my head. My skin felt sore and itchy, but every time I scratched, the itching got worse. Also my prep team looked at me as though I had fleas even though they have washed me.

"You're a tough one! You haven't made a single noise!" said a guy with bright green spiky hair and a face covered with all sorts of green markings. Usually I like green, but this man just put me off the colour. His name was Luigi, which made me laugh.

The other two were girls. At least I think they were girls. With the hair and make-up I couldn't tell. I only guessed because of their high voices; however everyone in the Capitol had high voices and silly accents. Once I found out their names I knew that they were defiantly girls. One was called Sirena who had long hot pink hair with dark pink lips and eyes. The other was called Prissy who had every single colour in her hair and on her face. She was a human rainbow.

Finally they say that I'm going to meet my stylist. I had been looking forward to this moment and I hoped that this stylist didn't put me in something silly. Which didn't look like it was going to happen.

Luigi, Sirena and Prissy all dart out of the room, leaving me lying on a metal table, completely naked. After a few minutes, a woman walks in who looks perfectly normal. She had a simple green and blue silky dress that went down to just above her knees. Her dress reminded me of the sea, which calmed me a little. She had frizzy black hair the looked natural. The only make-up she wore was bright sea green lipstick and eye shadow that went beautifully with her dark skin tone.

"Hello, you must be Percy" she had a kind smile and a gentle voice.

"Hi" I say nervously, itching to cross my legs over to cover myself.

"My name is Dorella and I am your stylist. Just give me a moment" she says and she starts to walk around the table, looking at me. I just nod.

After a few minutes, I give up resisting to cross my legs over and I just do it. To my surprise, Dorella just laughs and carries on looking around at me.

After a while, she says, "I like your hair, I don't think I will change it." I felt relived at the fact that at least somebody likes my hair.

"I did it myself this morning. It's nothing really" I say, waving my hand carelessly. Dorella laughs at my tone.

"Well, you can put your robe on and we'll have a chat over lunch" she says and walks out of the room through a door that I never noticed. Quickly I put on my robe and follow her. I was so hungry, after being in that room for so long, I was desperate to eat.

I walk into a room with three pale blue walls and a fourth wall made entirely out of glass, showing the Capitol below. In this room there was a small white table with two white chairs next to each other. I sit next to Dorella and we eat the food on the table.

The food in the Capitol was actually quite nice. It was cooked well and it had excellent flavours. However the food we had today was only basic. There were some bowls with different food in them so we could choose what we wanted. I had some slices of chicken with peas, mushrooms and a lovely creamy sauce.

As we ate, Dorella talked about the costumes for the Opening Ceremony. "Are you designing both for me and Annabeth?" I asked.

"No, the other stylist, called Cinna is designing the costumes for Annabeth; however we are working together on the designs. And of course, in the ceremony your costumes have to represent your district." I stayed silent. I had no idea what District 12 did. I didn't even know about the other districts. I didn't ask any questions because I knew that it would sound strange if I asked what my own district did.

She went on, "you see me and Cinna both think that this year we should do something different to coal and miners' outfits." So that's what District 12 did. Coal mining. Fun.

"Ok so what were you planning?" I said, feeling rather nervous knowing the Capitol's style.

"Well instead of focusing on the mining, we are going to focus more on the coal itself" she said, with a knowing smile.

"Okay" I said slowly. I suddenly had a strange thought. _What if I'm naked? I bet that will make us memorable. _

Dorella went on; "once you have mined the coal, you burn it" she smiles in a dark but friendly way. "Are you afraid of fire Percy?"

About 4 hours later, me and Annabeth are dressed in plain black, shiny cat-suits from neck to ankle. We both wore long, also black converse-like boots that went right up to the knee. Even the laces and the tips were black rather than white. However I felt like a superhero because of the long black cape that was clipped to our shoulders. My hair had been left but it looked cleaner. Annabeth's hair was left down but brushed until there wasn't a single knot. I have to say she looked stunningly beautiful.

"Are you ready to go into the capital streets along with 22 other people who want to kill us Percy?" she smiled at me kindly, reassuring me. Unfortunately, my reply came out as

"Uh duh". She laughed and took hold of my hand.

We were standing in a black chariot pulled with glistening black horses. I looked at their sides and tried to imagine them with wings. Then I thought of Blackjack. Even though he was so annoying and always wanting to have doughnut breaks, I really could do with his help in the games.

Dorella and Cinna were standing by the chariot. They were looking at the other tributes costumes. They were muttering things like "good, but not memorable" and "oh that's interesting".

Dorella came over to me and explained what was going to happen. "The district chariots will go out in order, so one first, then two and excreta. That means you will be last and we will light your capes just before you go out into the Capitol streets. The horses will take you to the square where the fire will go out". She beamed at me. "You look stunning, Percy. I know that you will do well". I smiled back

Suddenly music blares and the audience cheer. Me and Annabeth look at each other and grin excitedly. The District 1 chariot goes out first, pulled by white horses. Then two, then three, then four, then five, then six…I loose concentration and stagger slightly. Annabeth looks at me worryingly.

Before our chariot moves out, Annabeth hugs me and says, "we will get home".

**AN: So there you go guys! Chapter 5. Sorry it took so long, I'm a busy person but I promise I will try and write more. ;) Hope you like the rest! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 **

We wrenched apart from each other and stood still as our capes were lighted. There was a sudden whoosh as the fire erupted on my suit and cape. I felt nothing as the chariot moved forward into the streets of the Capitol. Me and Annabeth stood, hopefully looking determined and looking up at the wild crowd. They gaped and pointed at us, seeing us on fire but not burning to death. I was surprised that we weren't.

I looked down at my hand as Annabeth took hold of it. I stared up at her face, thinking that she was scared. But I didn't see a face of fear.

"What are you doing?" I hissed.

"Trust me, they will love it" Annabeth said smiling. She looked stunning with the basic make-up and the hair that Cinna had planned for her. I looked deep into her steely grey eyes, her blonde hair streaming out behind her. Once again, I replied with,

"Uh, buh…I mean…OK" Annabeth laughed at me and we held our hands tight. We lifted our connection up in the air and the crowd went bonkers. Cheering at us, clearly surprised to see that we were planning on working together, not slaughtering each other. They threw flowers and stood, clapping their hands and stomping their feet. We smiled and waved, making the audience go even wilder.

I looked forward at the other chariots and saw far in the distance the boy and girl from District two glaring at us, as though jealous that a lowly district such as District 12 were looking so good and getting so much attention. I grinned at them and they just turned around, copying us by holding their hands. However the trick didn't work for them. I wasn't surprised; they weren't on fire with flaming capes flapping out in the wind and in a coal black chariot with shiny jet black horses that looked like Blackjack. I knew that we instantly had some enemies on our hands.

We heard the audience cheering our names as all of the chariots filled the City Centre and we halted outside a huge mansion. As we did, the music that was playing ended in a spectacular way and the crowd cheered, then slowly died down.

A small, thin man with wiry white hair walked on to the balcony. I guessed that he was the president. I thought back to what Katniss said about President Snow. I looked up at him and thought, _hi President Snow! _

He said a very long welcome speech that I didn't really listen to. Bored, I searched for the camera guys. I found quite a few and I looked up at the screens. Most of the time the footage showed President Snow, but they would occasionally flick back to the tributes. That was mostly us. I laughed slightly. At least we made a good impression. However, the flames on our capes were slowly dying down. I felt sort of relieved but also sort of exposed. Well I was only wearing a black shiny wetsuit thing.

When President Snow finished his talk, the chariots circled once more round the City Centre before the horses trotted into a large building where prep teams rush over and chat excitedly about the ceremony. Cinna and Dorella also came to greet us along with Effie and Haymitch.

"That was excellent!" Effie chirped.

"Good show" said Haymitch, patting me on the back. For once he was being nice and wasn't drunk. Annabeth turned to look at the other tributes and her beaming smile turned into a dark look.

"Percy, I think during the training and especially during the games we should look out for those four" Annabeth muttered, while pointing at a small group of four tributes. I recognised the two tributes from District 2 glaring at us and whispering stuff to the other two.

"I know" I muttered back. "They could defiantly be a problem". We had clearly got more attention than they did. And by the way they were looking at us, they were planning on killing us first.

**AN: So there you go guys! Chapter 6, sorry it's so short, I knew that quite a few people were wanting me to update quicker and I have completely forgotten to write during Christmas! So, on to Chapter 7!**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Okay, so I have not updated in a while but that is because I have finished The Son of Neptune and have moved on to Mark of Athena. Oh my Gods I have not been able to put the book down. I have even been reading it in lessons, mainly science because I sit at the back :D anyway, someone nudged me and told me to write, so I am! Here you go, Chapter 7! **

**Chapter 7 **

We were going to be staying in the Training Centre until the actual games, but in a tower where the tributes from each district had their own floor. Effie was telling us all about this as we walking there, still in our Opening Ceremony outfits.

"Because you are from District 12, you get the penthouse!" Effie squealed. As she said this we were guided into a lift (or elevator; whatever you want to call it). Effie bounced her finger off of the 12 button and we began to climb upwards.

The thing that nerved me a bit was the fact that the entire lift was made of glass. All of the people on the ground floor would shrink to the size of ants in a few seconds. When we were near the top, we were quite high up. I knew that Thalia would be having a fit on the inside if she were in here. But she's tough and wouldn't show it.

Thalia. Just thinking of here made me think of the Hunters, then the quests, then the Titan War and then…Camp Half-Blood. I had just realised how much I missed my home back in time. I guess Annabeth would probably also be feeling the same thing. If both of us survived the games and found the portal…we could get home.

We reached the top and I suddenly realised that Haymitch wasn't with us. I laughed to myself. He had probably gone and passed out somewhere, or thrown up, or doing the stupid things that you do when you are drunk.

Effie seemed to be in a good mood. Clearly, we had been one of the best set of tributes that Effie had ever had. Also, she seemed to know every person in the Capitol because, as we were led into the large penthouse, she had been telling us that she had been showing us up in a good way so we got more sponsors in the games.

The penthouse was huge. A large, beautiful, modern looking room with a long dining table and chairs on one side of the room and to big, comfy looking sofas and a large flat screen TV on the other side. The design of the room was like the train car that we travelled to the Capitol in.

My bedroom was pretty large, and was almost exactly the same as the room that I had in the train. Except that the room was a lot bigger than the train car. However, the whole of my quarters had buttons that did different things; I was scared to press any of them just in case they did anything scary.

However I couldn't help pressing buttons in the shower. The shower had a load of buttons that did the same things that were on the train. I knew I would have to spend at least a good hour in that thing to be fully satisfied with the shower. I went in and about an hour and a half later I finally came out. But when I stepped onto the mat a load of warm air blew until I was dry and my hair was a mess.

There was some contraption on the wall of the bathroom that had a picture of someone running their fingers through their hair. I walked over to it and touched the screen. It lit up and told me to put in my hairstyle. I managed to find a picture of the usual wind-swept hair to the side that I have and pressed OK. A warm current ran through my hair and styled it perfectly. It was exactly like a hairdresser was standing there styling it with straighteners and a hairdryer.

Still wrapped in my towel, I walked over to the huge mahogany wardrobe that stood in the corner. One of the doors also had a touch screen on it and a tapped it. This lit up and showed me four pictures: a T-shirt, a pair of trousers, a skirt and a dress. I tapped the T-shirt and it showed me tones of thing that I could wear. Like on the train, I took a long time choosing what clothes I wore.

When I was done with the wardrobe I was wearing a sea green shirt that matched my eyes and a pair of dark jeans. I walked over to my bed and sat on it. I muttered something about the sea and the window suddenly changed to a sun setting over the sea. It was a beautiful picture. The sky wasn't blue; the light of the sun had turned it into liquid gold and red, the two colours merging together in perfect harmony. The sea was a handsome blue-green, matching the sky brilliantly in an interesting contrast. A spiky yellow, shimmering line was coming from the sun and casting across the blue-green mass like an arm reaching out to me, telling me to come home.

I was so lost in this image, I did not realise when Effie came in to call me to dinner. She must have liked me staring at the window because I faintly heard the door open and Effie's voice didn't speak until after about five minutes.

"The colour of the sea matches your eyes well and the sky shines excellently on your hair" Effie piped up after a while. I shook my head and got myself out of a daze.

"Huh? Oh, you think so?" I said; feeling kind of embarrassed.

"Yes, anyway dinner is ready so come on!" She beckoned me to the door and I got up, taking one last look at the sea. However as I was walking over, I knocked into the wardrobe and it wobbled menacingly before becoming still. Effie's nostrils flared and her eyes had an angry glare.

"Be careful Percy. That is mahogany." She said the last part stiffly, pausing in-between each word. I muttered sorry and followed her out of the door.

As I walked out, I saw Annabeth standing on a balcony that I hadn't noticed before. The wind blew her hair so it became a pool around her. Every knot had been demolished and her blonde locks flew graciously in the air. Ironically, the sun was beginning to set over the Capitol and her hair shimmered as though it held tiny pieces of pure gold.

I walked up to her and stood next to her. My arm crept around her shoulders and she turned and smiled at me. She had basic mascara and eyeliner on, with a light pink lipstick. It made her look all the more beautiful. We both turned and looked out over the Capitol, my arm around her, her head on my shoulder and my head on hers.

I could hear faint whispering and a slight giggle coming from behind us. I bet Effie was standing with Cinna and Dorella, telling them how cute we were together and probably how it would be such a shame that one, if not both of us would not be coming back.

The door opened and I assumed that it would be Haymitch walking in. I heard Effie making shushing noises and Haymitch grumbling slightly. Both me and Annabeth were giggling silently by now, both of us listening to the conversation that was happening.

Effie: "Oh Haymitch! Aren't they so cute?!"  
Haymitch: "Yeah you could say that. But you know that at least one of them will die?"  
Effie: She huffed, clearly bothered.

Cinna: "This could be good for getting sponsors, eh Haymitch?"  
Dorella: "Yes, that would be sweet and yet so tragic."

Haymitch: "Yes, that's a good idea. The star-crossed lovers from District 12."

We were still trying to keep our giggles to ourselves as they were having this conversation. But as they were drawing to a close, both of us couldn't help but burst out laughing; we were bent double, getting all of our laughter out. The group of adults turned to stare at us. They didn't understand why we found it funny, we were from the past. In our past, this situation that they were discussing would have seemed stupid.

But alas, we had no choice but to just go with it. At least it would help us live longer in the event that seemed only too close.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: So hey guys, new chapter! Sorry I haven't updated, I've just suddenly made the mad decision to write about 5 different stories at once. Also I've been trying to stop my brain from imploding because of all of the nostalgia moments I've had over the past two weeks :D Anyway, new chapter! **

**Chapter 8 **

The three days of training nerved me a bit. All twenty four tributes were to be put together for the first time in one, gigantic room while the Gamemakers sat in their own little bit, watching us from above. I knew that we had already earned some enemies and I didn't really want to go near them. However, Haymitch told us that none of the tributes were allowed to attack each other unless it was part of the training exercise; which had a supervisor.

Haymitch had told us to stay clear of the things that we were good at. For me and Annabeth, that was almost everything thanks to our many years of Camp Half-Blood training. What we told Haymitch were our main strengths and abilities. He thought for a bit and then said that we should both work on traps, snares and survival skills, keep away from the combat. I was glad to hear this because I knew that the tributes from districts 1 and 2 would be doing nothing but combat, trying to show off.

So for three days, training went smoothly for me and Annabeth. We occasionally did combat activities just to make sure that our good skills didn't wear out. There was only one major fight between two sets of tributes and that was on the second day.

Me and Annabeth were making fires when a shout broke out in the middle of the room. The boy from 1 and the boy from 2 were walking towards each other menacingly. Suddenly, the boy from 1 lunged towards the boy from 2 and they both collapsed to the floor, rolling about and…the only way to describe it is that they were growling. Their fight was shortly broken by four Peacekeepers.

I never found out what they were fighting about but some rumours were flying about that the boy from 1 thought that the other had stolen his knife. Me and Annabeth had a good laugh over dinner about this because it was only a knife and during the games, it wouldn't be there. Also, what made it funnier, apparently the girl from 11 stole it and hid it somewhere in the training room. She was only small and young and didn't seem that much of a threat, but it seemed that she had a good character.

On the afternoon of the third day, we each had a private session with the Gamemakers so we could show our skills. This would lead to a score out of 12 that was to be broadcast on the Capitol's news show. This was the time where we would show the main skills that we had stayed clear of during the main training. But because we were from District 12, we had to go last, therefore having a disadvantage. The Gamemakers would be on their last legs, bored from watching all of the other tributes show their stuff.

All twenty four tributes sat in a large room, waiting for their names to be called. When someone left to go into the main training room, they didn't come back. So the room slowly emptied and I was feeling the pressure. What to do? Obviously, the first thing would be to grab a sword. Then just see what happens there.

Finally, I was in the room by myself, and my name was called. I stood up and walked confidently into the training room. I didn't feel confident. In the corner of the room there was a stand holding all of the weapons that you could ever dream of. I strode over and picked up the only sword. It was heavy, but only slightly heavier that Riptide, which helped. However, this sword was longer than Riptide. Damn. I shook my arm slightly, getting used to the new blade. The silver was shinier than the Celestial Bronze that I was used to and it glinted into my eyes, putting me off.

Nearer the Gamemakers, there was a set of dummies that looked like they were made out of Harlem sacks and were lined up for anyone who wanted to show off their sword skills. That's handy. I walked over and accidentally on purpose tapped the tip of the sword on the floor. The Gamemakers looked over and tried to look interested. It was clear that they weren't. Starting off, I swing my sword at the nearest dummy. It barely touched my target. Angered slightly my second swing went slightly out of whack. When I lifted the blade, it knocked over the dummy that was behind me.

The Gamemakers laughed and turned back to the huge banquet that was in their area.

I lowered my sword and turned and glared up at the Gamemakers. Teeth clenched, mouth tight and nostrils flared I looked back at the dummies and began to show off my best sword skills that I knew. My anger fuelled my actions and every one of my aims struck true. Once finished and out of breath I turned to check that any Gamemaker was watching.

None of them had their head in my direction.

_Right. You want to ignore me? Well ignore this! _ I thought and with that, I raised my free hand. There were two large jugs of water that were in plain sight of every Gamemaker that was there. With my palm facing the water jugs, I concentrated with all of my might on the water. I hadn't used my demigod power for a while and I didn't know whether it would work or not. But, the water rose out of the jugs and combined together into a swirling mass the size of a Shetland Pony. The noise of the Gamemakers voices slowly died down as they looked from the water to me and back.

Thinking that it would completely ruin my chances of getting a good score if I got them wet, I shot the water straight at the last dummy that was standing up. The force of the water knocked the dummy back a few feet and toppled it over. The Gamemakers were clearly in shock. I wasn't surprised. They had probably never seen a tribute manipulate water like that.

Before the Gamemakers could gather themselves, I turned to face them, bowed, twirling my hand, and said "Why thank you, for your consideration." I run the sword through a dummy on the floor and stormed out, heading back to penthouse.

When I got back, I was greeted with smiles and people saying "Well, how did it go?" I just carried on walking, looking down at the floor with my eyes not really focused on anything. I waved my hand and stomped into my room, kicking the mahogany wardrobe angrily. "I don't care id it's mahogany or not" I muttered to myself.

Collapsing on to my bed, I put my elbows on my knees and my face in my hands and sighed. Great. Now I've ruined everything. I bet, now after my temper tantrum, they are going to treat me like a freak and probably give me a one or something. They might, I suddenly realised, they might try and pick me out during the games, making me a target.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Oh my Gods. Just realised how long it has been since I have updated this story. So long… I'm sorry guys, things have been a little hectic in the HarryBrumbyJacksonGames household recently and I have been ill :( Also I seem to have about five different bits of homework to do before the Easter Holidays :( Anyway, I have FINALLY written a new chapter and I hope you guys like it :) **

**Chapter 9 **

Effie finally stopped waiting for me to come out of my room after about half an hour. I had felt so bad, I had just locked myself in my room and I was planning on staying in my room until the morning. I could not go out there after what I did in that room with the Gamemakers. They probably think that I am some sort of freak, manipulating water like that.

Annabeth is outside my door now. She knocks softly, and talks quietly. I stay silent, lying on my bed curled up in a ball. Annabeth continues to knock. It's getting on my nerves. The knocking stops but no footsteps are heard. Also, two shadows of Annabeth's feet were still lingering at the bottom of my door.

I suddenly remember that they would be revealing the training scores to the public tonight. Great, I will probably get something really low. I couldn't remember what the scoring was, since I was half asleep when Annabeth told me. It was something like 1 being really bad and 13 or something being really good. I'll probably get a – 27. Okay, a bit of an exaggeration but…

Annabeth is saying that dinner is ready and that if I really didn't want to come out then they would save me something to eat. I decided to reply. I couldn't hide from my fail forever.

"It's okay, I'll come…and tell you lot how crap I was" I laughed lightly. I could hear Annabeth giggling slightly outside.

"Okay. I'll see you in a bit then." The shadows of Annabeth's footsteps faded away.

I get up and organise my hair into something respectable and walk out of my room. Everyone was sitting at the table waiting for me. No-one was talking. Annabeth and Effie were keeping their heads down along with the stylists. All of their work on the costumes at the Opening Ceremony gone to pot; all because of my stupid mistake. I had let everyone down; Annabeth, Effie, Cinna, Dorella and Haymitch. I thought of that joke about the inflatable kid who walked into school with a pin. The teacher said that he had let the school down and stuff.

Haymitch had been watching me walk over to the table in silence. It was really awkward and I didn't look up at all. I just shuffled over and sat next to Annabeth without saying a word. Effie started up a conversation with the stylists about something like the weather. Annabeth caught my eyes with a question. _What happened? _I gave my head a small shake and looked back down at my food. Haymitch saw this.

"Okay Percy. Just HOW bad were you today?" He said loudly and in an off-hand tone, like he was just asking me how my weekend was. I looked up sharply with slightly frightened eyes. I looked back down and murmured quietly.

"Um, I-I attacked the Gamemakers" I could just feel everybody's shocked eyes glaring at me. I could sense my cheeks going red. What do I say now? I can't say that I manipulated water from the jugs to splash across the room. Well, I could tell Annabeth that but she would go crazy.

"You what?!" Effie squeaked. "How? What did you do?" Effie sounded shocked but also extremely angry. Crap. Now what do I say? I looked over at Annabeth for help. We locked eyes and instantly she understood what must have happened. I didn't say anything in reply. Luckily, Haymitch dropped that information, realising that I didn't want to talk about it.

"Ack, they won't do anything much except make your life hell in the arena and give you a low score so you won't get very many sponsors. Just another year of the games!" He said this in a very false bright voice that really bothered me.

"But won't our life in the games be hell anyway for all of us?" Annabeth suggested. Haymitch raised his eyebrows.

"Very true." He laughed. "What were their faces like?" Haymitch was grinning now, eager to find out what I gad actually done. Effie was saying nothing, with a very disapproving look on her face. The stylists were smiling slightly and listening quietly. I was even beginning to smile slightly, surprisingly.

"Shocked. Terrified, and I even think a guy tripped up and fell over from staggering backwards" I laughed. Everyone else was giggling now, apart from Effie, who looked like she was trying to hide a smile, but she wasn't doing to good at it.

"So were they not paying attention to you? Because they didn't with me" Annabeth said, still laughing slightly.

"Yeah. That's why I got mad. Even though I knew that they would be like that, it still shocked me" I was remembering the guy who had fallen over.

We had finished our dinner and have moved over to the high-tech TV on the wall on the other side of the large room. I sat next to Annabeth on the sofa, who cuddled up to me; which comforted me a lot. The screen flashes into existence and a guy with very large blue hair appears. He is sitting behind a desk with a huge wad of paper in his hands. The news and our scores I guess.

It didn't surprise me that District 12 scores were being shown last. It also didn't surprise me that the Careers get roughly a 7- 9 range. The highest being the boy from 2, Cato, getting a 9. Everyone else got 4 – 6/7. Then came Annabeth.

"Annabeth Chase, from District 12…9." There were smiles and a few cheers as Annabeth hid her face in my chest. I laughed and looked down at her.

"Nice one wise girl" I said, grinning. I heard a muffled response which was probably some sort of protest but it was too quiet and mumbled to hear. Then came me.

"And finally, Percy Jackson from District 12" the blue haired man was grinning until he looked down at my score. His face fell into one of shock. "Percy Jackson…11!" It was my turn to have a shocked face. There was a silent pause as the TV screen flickered off and everyone still seemed to be staring at it. Then all hell broke loose.

Haymitch cheered and leaped up to stand on the once bright white sofa, earning a look of up most disgust from Effie. Dorella and Cinna high-fived and then turned to grin at me. Me and Annabeth were locked eyes, staring at each other. Nobody could quite believe it. Me? An 11? Were they really that impressed that I had somehow learned some magic to manipulate water like that? Or while I was busting out some sword moves someone was actually paying attention to me, only to turn away once I had finished? None of that really seemed to matter. I had got an 11!

"Whatever you did in there Percy, it sure made an impression!" Haymitch screeched in a manic voice down to me. He was laughing like a mad man and leaping around cheering, holding his fists up in the air.

"I guess they liked your temper, it will make the Games more interesting if they have a tribute with some fire" Dorella said, smiling slightly. "Cinna and I have some great ideas for your interview costumes, especially you Annabeth" Dorella give Annabeth a mischievous and knowing smile.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Please don't hurt me… I'm soooooooooooo sorry I have not updated! I know I left it for about a month and it seemed like I abandoned the story, but I promise you that I do not intend to. **

**Chapter 10 **

Once again, I'm lying on the sliver table in the dull white room, having my body manufactured to be perfect for the interviews that were to happen this very night. The whole of yesterday, Effie was teaching me and Annabeth how to sit, walk, talk and many other things that would make us look respectable during the interviews. I remember stifling my laughter as Effie made Annabeth walk around in impossibly high stilettos while wearing a long dress. I'm sure Annabeth had never worn a dress or stiletto shoes in her life and she was wobbling around like crazy, the hem of her skirt snagging on her heels.

I move my eyes only as I watched myself get painted and decorated. Luigi was styling my hair so it had tiny strips of red, yellow, gold and orange running through it. I also reluctantly let him make my black hair shimmer by mixing in some strange gold shampoo into my hair not too long ago. Sirena was making my whole body also shine faintly gold, giving me a weird tinge. Prissy was giving me a strange tattoo on the back of my left hand which had a bird in flight on fire.

"Don't worry Percy; this can easily come off in the shower! In case you were wondering, this bird is a Phoenix, obviously! Everyone knows that they are the fire birds!" Prissy was squealing at me while she was applying the Phoenix tattoo. I was rather disappointed when the stylists were saying that we would go down this whole fire theme. As being the son of Poseidon, the Greek God of the sea, it seemed a bit bothering that we had gone with the opposite element.

Once I had been painted, Dorella came in and helped me dress into a very posh, shiny, black suit that had flames running up the sleeves. The lapels of the jacket were a bright red, along with the silk inside. Underneath, I wore an incredibly bright white shirt with a shiny black bow tie at the top. The trousers and the shoes I wore were also made of the same shiny black material that the jacket was made from. It was simple, but also smart and effective. I liked it a lot.

It seemed like time had flown by the time I was grouped up with the other tributes in the Training Centre. All of the costumes were very flamboyant and outrageous, but none of them seemed to have the simple effectiveness that my suit had. However, despite saying this, everybody looked very smart and suitable for being interviewed.

When Annabeth came down, I couldn't talk. Her hair had been washed until it shone, and once again, every knot had been removed. Her body was also a shimmering gold colour, but it was a lot more noticeable than mine. Her shoes were lower than the ones she had been wearing earlier and the bottom of the dress was higher up, so she didn't have to lift up her skirt. Speaking of the dress…I was in awe. It was a beautiful fiery red, with red gemstones around the neckline. They were all bunched together at the top, and then they would gradually spread further apart down the dress. In the bottom right hand corner of her skirt, a large tongue of sparkling red and gold fire, made out of more gemstones rose up diagonally. On the tips of the flames, hints of blue stones added extra detail.

Annabeth smiled sheepishly when she saw my dumbstruck face, hiding behind her blonde hair. She walked over effortlessly to me, giggling slightly at my face; my jaw had refused to remove from the floor. I seemed to be in a dream; Annabeth glided over like she was flying, her eyelashes flickered and she stood in front of me, holding her hands together in front of me and actually looking like one of the rare few Aphrodite girls who wasn't coated in makeup.

"You okay?" Annabeth smirked. I shook my head to clear myself of the daydream and closed my mouth. I was determined to actually say something rather than some sort of mumble.

"Uh…yeah I'm fine. You look gorgeous by the way" I said, grinning down at her.

"Aww, I know you're lying. I look a lot better in jeans and the orange T-shirt" Annabeth mumbled, turning away and waving a hand.

"What are you talking about? You have never looked any more beautiful and you admit that okay?" I said, the last part in laugher as she tried to pull away from me turning her head so she faced me.

"Stop lying!" She giggled and gasped as I took her hand and spun her into an embrace. We looked into each other's eyes for a second, before sharing a kiss.

A stage had been set up outside the Training Centre that was surrounded by bright flashing lights and screens. People were packed into the seats in front of the stage and all of the stylists were in the front row. I was glad that the stylists were at the front because I could look at Dorella when my nerves get the better of me.

Me and Annabeth break from the kiss to turn to one of the screens that were dotted around the place to see a man with metallic blue hair springs onto the stage. The announcer shouts in an enthusiastic voice "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the stage your host, Caesar Flickerman!" Everybody claps and cheers. Caesar seems to be the most normal person I have seen so far in the Capitol, apart from Dorella. He was wearing a dark metallic blue suit that shone n the lights around the stage. I noticed that his teeth, gleaming white, also shone in the light as he grinned over everyone, his arms wide.

Bouncing into the chair furthest away from the side entrance of the stage, he starts talking to the audience about stuff that any old TV host would say. Things like "well what a wonderful evening it is tonight" and "are you all having a good time?" Caesar also told a few jokes that were actually quite funny.

When the tributes are mentioned, I felt like it was the time of the private session with the Gamemakers all over again. The butterflies appeared in my stomach and wouldn't go away. Annabeth saw this, took hold of my hand and gave it a squeeze, smiling kindly up at me.

Time seems to last forever. The tributes are called up one by one, starting with the boy from District 1, then the girl from 1 and so on and so on. Tributes disappear from the Training Centre for their three minute interview before coming back in to watch the rest of the interviews. I guess they stayed so they knew who they were up against. The four people from Districts 1 and 2 all seemed very confident, the girl from 5 looked a bit like a fox and she looked like as though she knew what she was doing.

I don't really pay attention anymore until the girl from 11 sits down in the chair next to Caesar and at first she looked sweet and childish, until she started talking. Rue, was her name, and she seemed to be a confident character.

Rue came back into the Training Centre smiling confidently as my name was called by Caesar. "Now, we welcome the young man who managed to get himself an 11! Such a rare score! So from District 12, give a huge welcome, to Percy Jackson!" I put on a brave face, grin at Annabeth, who gives me the thumbs up, straighten my suit and tie, and I grin at the cheering audience as I walk up onto the stage.


End file.
